Road Trip
by Patriot
Summary: A high-schooler's tragic experience teaches Scully a lesson in love...


Road Trip

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Patriot

Stop #27 along Bus Route 45- Georgetown, VA

7:14 PM EST

The teen swore as he glanced agitatedly at his wristwatch. He'd spent all day working with a local community service group for a school project- and was now finishing off a hard day of work with a long and boring wait for a bus in the pouring rain _sans_ umbrella or raincoat. According to his schedule, the bus wouldn't be arriving for another twenty minutes or so either. The large Oak tree he stood under provided some protection from the deluge, but his cotton tee shirt and jean cutoffs were fast becoming nothing more than sponges. The roads were surprisingly empty for a Tuesday night in the middle of June, but—under the circumstances—he really didn't care. Mike turned his back to the under-trafficked roadway to stare into the glass-paned edifice of the local diner. Several thoughts passed through his head, ranging from the annoyance over not having enough money to buy himself dinner to the surprise over how appealing that blonde waitress with the nice legs looked in a snug-fitting pink waitress' skirt. 

"Hey," a voice called from behind him. "You need a ride kid?"

The boy spun around to see that a silver Ford Taurus had pulled up next to the bus stop. The passenger's window was rolled down and Michael could see a small-framed redhead behind the wheel. Other than her, the car looked empty.

"I, uh…"

She grinned.

"Don't take rides from strangers, huh? Good call."

He shrugged with modest self-approval.

"Here, would this be any more comforting?"

The woman reached into her suit jacket and pulled out a small leather wallet. She flipped it open to reveal a badge and FBI identification. Mike's face lit up.

"So _you're_ the guys who have that ten-thousand dollar bounty out on my head?"

The boy patted himself on the back when she smiled in spite of herself. The woman glanced out through her windshield and then back to the boy.

"This is some awful weather to be out in, and it doesn't look like your bus will be here for awhile. C'mon," she beckoned leisurely and unlocked the doors. 

_Yeah, why not? She's cute enough…_

"As long as you don't mind a wet seat," Mike commented as he slid into the seat and slammed the door closed after him. He smiled cordially and extended a dripping hand:

"Mike Larkin."

She grasped his hand in a friendly response as the chance meeting turned into a benevolent tryst:

"Dana Scully." 

There was an awkward silence as each thought of some topic for conversation. Dana couldn't carry a conversation about sports if her life depended on it and she had never met a high-school kid interested in talking politics or forensic medicine.

"Hungry?" Scully asked, nodding towards the diner.

"Why not, let's go."

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"RoadHouse Diner"- Georgetown, VA

"So that's Chicken Salad on Rye and a glass of Seltzer for you and a Cheeseburger and Coke for your son. Right?"

"Yeah, but he's not my-"

"Thanks, I'll be right back with your order."

Dana sighed and rolled her eyes at the waitress.

"Don't worry about it. Another twenty minutes and you'll never see her again."

"You're probably right," the agent responded as she drained half of her water glass.

"Wow, I'd like to tap that ass!"

Larkin looked past Scully to a girl two or three years his junior at the other end of the diner. The FBI agent looked at him with a furrowed brow and he gestured discreetly to the victim of his youthful lust.

"Boys will be boys," Dana muttered to herself as she shook her head.

"Bet your cute-"

"My cute _what_?"

The teen paused, then grinned lasciviously.

"I don't know…there are just so many cute parts for you to wager."

"Settle down tiger, not like I'm taking you back to my place or anything."

Mike laughed.

"I wouldn't dream of such of thing," then his voice lowered. "I figured on a motel room at least."

Dana's lips parted as she broke into a subdued giggle- more at the circumstance than at anything Larkin had said. Though anything more would be illegal, she was enjoying his blatant flirtation in spite of herself. Even it was only for another two hours more, it was nice to have such a jovial relationship with a guy. Michael's face softened as he looked at Scully with a sort of nostalgia.

"You're beautiful when you laugh," he said with a morbid chuckle of his own. "Reminds me of my girlfriend."

"Should I be sorry?"

Larkin smiled, genuinely touched by her sincerity. 

"Not at all…wasn't anything you did. It's just…"

"It's okay, you can tell me."

"Jessica was raped and killed while jogging through the park…one month tonight."

"I…I don't know what to say."

He shrugged.

"I don't know what you should say either."

Dana dropped twenty dollars on the table.

"Let's go. I'm not all that hungry anyway."

He nodded and slid out of the booth.

The car ride had been virtually silent, with the exception of Mike's directions in guiding her to his house. Scully shifted the sedan into park as they sat in front of his house.

"Listen, I'm sorry-" she was interrupted by the boy's somber voice.

"Tell him how you feel."

"Wha…Who?!?"

"Husband, boyfriend, crush…whoever. If there is someone, tell him that you love him. The afternoon before Jessica was killed we had a pretty bad argument. An angry 'go to hell' right before hanging up on her…that was the last time I talked to my girlfriend, and God as my witness I'll never forgive myself for it. Make sure he knows how you really feel he next time you see him, because you never know when it'll be your last."

Dana opened her mouth to say something but the boy had already closed the car door behind him as he walked to his front door. Pulling back out into the street, the woman realized that it was only another ten minutes to Mulder's house...


End file.
